


Baltimore

by alcibiades



Series: A well-traveled and versatile lifestyle [2]
Category: Hannibal (TV), Inception (2010)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2014-05-01
Packaged: 2018-01-21 11:05:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1548383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alcibiades/pseuds/alcibiades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the job in New Mexico, Arthur takes a gig in Baltimore. He's never been particularly fond of the East Coast, but the job is interesting -- and lucrative -- enough to be a draw. "You'll like the guy," Wei says, programming a number into the phone Arthur will discard later. "You two will get along like gangbusters."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baltimore

After the job in New Mexico, Arthur takes a gig in Baltimore. He's never been particularly fond of the East Coast, but the job is interesting -- and lucrative -- enough to be a draw. "You'll like the guy," Wei says, programming a number into the phone Arthur will discard later. "You two will get along like gangbusters."

They meet somewhere public but informal - the man is a psychiatrist, so Arthur could have just made an appointment, but neither of them wants their initial introduction on file even if it is under a thrice-buried alias. Arthur gets what Wei meant about Dr. Lecter from the first second he lays eyes on the man - it's in the cut of his suit, the careful neutrality of his expression, the deliberateness with which he makes every movement. A predator posing as a house pet. 

"You come highly recommended," Dr. Lecter says. They refrain from shaking hands, but Arthur gives him a small smile in response. "I trust these recommendations were not made in error."

"They wouldn't be worth a lot if they were," Arthur answers, unbuttoning his jacket as he sits down. It's a good suit that Dr. Lecter is wearing, a bit baroque for Arthur's tastes, but well-made and well-fitted. 

Dr. Lecter's eyes pass over him, stopping momentarily on the spot where Arthur's gun barely catches the inside of his jacket. Something you could only see if you were looking for it, really, and you knew where to look. "They say you are very discreet." He smiles back at Arthur; his whole face displays warmth, except for his eyes.

"I'm better than discreet," Arthur replies, flagging the waiter down and ordering a glass of wine. "I'm a ghost, Dr. Lecter."

+++

The job doesn't involve any wetwork - Wei had said it wouldn't, and it's nice to take a break from that - but it does involve a lot of cleaning. This is fine with Arthur; he has a lot of practice removing any traces of his presence from a variety of situations, and he certainly doesn't mind doing it for someone else. He gets paid in well-laundered cash, which he launders further and spends little of. He doesn't live in Baltimore, but he doesn't go far, because part of the job description is to be essentially at Dr. Lecter's beck and call.

Any questions he may have, he keeps to himself. Someone once said to him (someone said to him more than once, if he's honest), _Arthur, you have an eye for human weakness_ , and he knows it's that kind of situation he's found here, but it's none of his business. He certainly has enough skeletons in his closet not to go looking for them in anyone else's.

Dr. Lecter's home and office are as baroque as his clothing, and Arthur thinks they could probably have a conversation or two about art, if that were within the parameters of their relationship. As it is, he settles for a certain distanced appreciation of the doctor's taste.

He's leaving Dr. Lecter's house by way of the back door, one evening, pulling his gloves off finger-by-finger, when he hears someone walking through the fallen leaves at the side of the house and stops. The man who comes into view reminds him of Cobb in a way - the same haunted expression - but is younger, classically handsome. His face is almost sweet, if not for the expression and the dark circles under his eyes.

They stare at each other for a few moments. Arthur shifts a little, but doesn't draw his gun, hoping the situation can be defused some other way. "What are you doing here?" The man asks him, after a protracted silence. 

Arthur doesn't answer, picking his way toward the back gate; his motorcycle is parked in the alley. The man comes after him, maintaining the distance between them but matching Arthur step for step. "Who are you?" he asks Arthur.

Arthur shakes his head, opening the gate. "I'm nobody," he says, slipping out.

He's surprised when he's not followed.

+++

"I'm afraid our arrangement must come to an end," Dr. Lecter says as he pays the bill - in cash, of course. "As regrettable as it may be, I think having Mr. Graham asking after you will come to no good end on either of our behalves."

"I understand," answers Arthur, standing and buttoning his jacket again, straightening his sleeves. It would be a lie to say he doesn't feel a slight sense of regret, but he doesn't mind the thought of leaving Baltimore behind.

"Your reputation is well deserved." Dr Lecter shrugs on his overcoat and gives Arthur one of those inscrutable smiles. "It has been a pleasure working with you."

Arthur nods, and smiles back faintly as his former employer turns and walks out. Dr. Lecter doesn't look back, and when Arthur leaves a few minutes later, he doesn't look back either.

A few months later, he picks up a newspaper in a diner in Texas and sees Dr. Hannibal Lecter's face splashed across the front of it. He doesn't bother to read the story, because it's a narrative he's familiar enough with already. 

It's a bit disappointing, but it also carries with it a sense of the inevitable: He knows this well, that eventually, all criminals get caught.


End file.
